Snap launches its first drone • Hacker News Board

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#111

Post by c54 » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:29 PM UTC

ryan_j_naughton wrote: post #92

wyager wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. I was in Vegas a few weeks ago at a pool club. The bouncer was checking everyone's bags; not for guns, drugs, or alcohol, but for bluetooth speakers.

> Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. What do you mean by "destruction"? If you mean actually breaking someone's speaker, then you're wrong and fundamentally don't understand externalities. If you read the original Pigouvian and Coasian theory behind externalities, you'll realize that inherent to the nature of an externality is each…

This is a great response, you did a good job elucidating the deeper moral and interpersonal issue while also connecting with and understanding the reason the OP is upset and even suggesting real policy changes. Thanks!

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#112

Post by badwolf » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:29 PM UTC

Oh! This is something I've been wanting for a while. I'm excited to try it out and see how it works out.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#113

Post by woozyolliew » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:30 PM UTC

marstall wrote: post #89

cue my dystopian paranoia self: in a few short years technology like this will enable the effortless creation of a perfect, stylish, witty video of each and every day of your life, shot and edited in complete autonomy. Which shows you at your best. And expresses none of your fears, anxieties, inelegancies, loneliness, family trauma, time wasting or thoughtless cruelty. Fast forward another nanosecond in the singulari…

Plus a day out to the park has become even more of a buzzy plastic hellscape.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#114

Post by sithadmin » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:30 PM UTC

This seems like it's begging for an FAA smackdown. Drones under 250 grams are exempt from registration, but are still subject to other restrictions.

This thing seems to make autonomous flight decisions, so it can't possibly comply with FAA rules requiring a pilot in control. Is it smart enough to avoid flying over people or cars? Probably not. Betting it will also happily let users send it off into no-fly-zone airspace, and that it doesn't have any kind of a manual killswitch to force a landing if it decides to do a 'flyaway' malfunction.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#115

Post by ryukafalz » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:31 PM UTC

ryan_j_naughton wrote: post #92

wyager wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. I was in Vegas a few weeks ago at a pool club. The bouncer was checking everyone's bags; not for guns, drugs, or alcohol, but for bluetooth speakers.

> Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. What do you mean by "destruction"? If you mean actually breaking someone's speaker, then you're wrong and fundamentally don't understand externalities. If you read the original Pigouvian and Coasian theory behind externalities, you'll realize that inherent to the nature of an externality is each…

> If you mandate silence, you're forcing that silence on others just as much as them playing music is forcing that sound on you.

Except that personal audio sources are much more feasible than personal noise suppression, especially if you also want to be able to carry a conversation.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#116

Post by jclardy » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:32 PM UTC

foolfoolz wrote: post #32

i have drones. drones are hard to use. the killer feature of snapchat is that it’s easy to get content up. you have to keep posting new content cause it decays fast. phones are especially good at taking photos and videos and making them accessible. you may go somewhere or meet someone and within a few minutes have 5+ pictures you want to post. or a couple videos you think would do well. you may have them posted withi…

This product is trying to be the antithesis of that. I have a few DJI drones and I share the same experience - you bring a drone to fly/shoot with a drone, it isn't something you do spontaneously.

But this drone is not the same as a "traditional" drone, it appears you just set the mode, then let it fly out of your hand. No fumbling through an app for BT connection (Until you want to post the content, but Snap glasses make this super easy, the drone will be the same.) No looking for somewhere to launch because the props are guarded and the thing weighs less than a cell phone. No controls needed since it is all just gestures. If it runs out of battery I imagine it just lands wherever it is at. And it is the size of a sandwich, so it fits in a small bag - so you don't need a separate carrying case.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#117

Post by mikeryan » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:32 PM UTC

RC_ITR wrote: post #23

andrewgioia wrote: post #12

I think this is such a fun/playful idea, kudos to Snap! Their first hardware product pretty much bombed but this is oddly one of the first consumer tech toys in a while that I've felt I wanted. I can definitely see this being a fun thing to bring out in the backyard or to cookouts/parties, especially as a dad with young kids too. A couple things I'd be a bit worried about: * Battery life would need to last long enoug…

>Would there be an audible hum in the video it records from the 4x propellers? 100% yes and this is why every drone video ever has music over it.

100% yes and this is why every drone video ever has music over it.

That and even without the buzz anything most drones picked up would not be meaningful sound. Most are too far away and moving too much to pick up voices, better to just record off your phone to get conversation and/or ambient noise.

I'm almost surprised they even put a mic on this thing, though I'm sure from a product marketing perspective people would ding them for not having one.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#118

Post by ForrestN » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:32 PM UTC

This is one of those moments where the thing itself as it exists now doesn't excite me, but you can already tell the next several iterations (maybe by a different company) could start to get really exciting. Having a little, quiet drone following you that can record things or communicate information to you via voice commands or beam live video to your phone might be really useful. No more getting lost! Just head up and see where you are. "Hey drone, pay for my coffee." "Hey drone, where's my dog?" "Hey drone, take a picture of us." "Hey drone, harass that person if they come within 20 feet of us, and take a photo of their face." "Hey drone, lead the way to the Hilton hotel." I'd love a little flying computer!

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#119

Post by jyrkesh » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:33 PM UTC

ryan_j_naughton wrote: post #92

wyager wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. I was in Vegas a few weeks ago at a pool club. The bouncer was checking everyone's bags; not for guns, drugs, or alcohol, but for bluetooth speakers.

> Destruction of light/sound pollution sources in places otherwise free of such pollution is totally morally justified IMO. What do you mean by "destruction"? If you mean actually breaking someone's speaker, then you're wrong and fundamentally don't understand externalities. If you read the original Pigouvian and Coasian theory behind externalities, you'll realize that inherent to the nature of an externality is each…

Without necessarily supporting it, there's a property-based take as well, in which you have complete rights over the air, water, light, noise, etc. within your private property boundaries. As a society, we've largely agreed that there are too many logistical challenges and societal benefits to take a hardline stance here, but you _could_ make a case that any unwanted pollution into your property (without agreed upon compensation, which do exist today in the form of easements) would be equivalent to trespassing.

Re: Snap launches its first drone

#120

Post by usrusr » Thu, Apr 28, 2022, 6:34 PM UTC

Karawebnetwork wrote: post #15

deanc wrote: post #4

What on earth is this pivot? From ephemeral messenger into camera sunglasses and a drone?

Is it really a pivot? They are all about letting people share video stories made using their ecosystem. They pushed the software (filters, etc.) as far as they could so now they are pushing the hardware. You can't code a "first person view" or a "third person view" filter. So glasses & drones it is.

Products and services for people who won't accept anything behind the lens distracting from the other side. A drone controlled by a simple mode wheel selecting from five behavior presets fits right in.